1/5/26 - Looking ahead, saving, and remembering a beloved leader

Andrew Pulrang

05 Jan 2026 — 4 min read

White wheelchair symbol painted onto blue tile pavement

Good afternoon!

It's the first regular post of the new year. How is 2026 going f9r us so far?

If you haven't already, please take a few minutes to complete the 2026 Disability Thinking Weekday poll, about the future of the newsletter. Click the button below to get to the poll:

2026 Disability Thinking Weekday Poll

Five Key Disability Stories to Watch in 2026

John Loeppky, Disabled Journalists Association - January 2, 2026

"While we expect more of the same in 2026, and while journalists are prone to pessimism, there are also a number of broader trends our team will be watching closely in the year ahead."

This is a pretty good list of issues to keep an eye on this year. Digging deeper than the title lines, most of the issues mentioned could be broken out into more subtopics, too. And they aren't all about US policy or budget cuts. Including the upcoming Winter Paralympics and effects of international aid, alongside the more obvious issues, seems like a good choice. It all holds together and flows in a way that makes the reader feel like keeping track of disability issues in 2026 might at least be a manageable goal.

This investment account is ‘like a super-powered Roth,’ expert says. And 6 million more Americans are now eligible to contribute

Kamaron McNair, CNBC - January 1, 2026

"ABLE accounts are tax-advantaged investment accounts designed for Americans with disabilities. Created by Congress in 2014, ABLE accounts allow beneficiaries to save for qualified expenses like education, housing, health care and more without affecting their Medicaid or Social Security income eligibility."

This is one of the more helpful overviews of what ABLE accounts are and how they work that I have seen since the program first passed in 2014. And it's good to see that the long hoped-for eligibility expansion is finally happening. But one question still lingers. Is the ABLE account program a real tool for helping disabled people climb out of the poverty enforced by benefits we can't afford to lose? Or, are they mainly a tool for disabled people already doing pretty well financially to do even better?

Hero of 2025: Alice Wong

Julia Métraux, Mother Jones - December 31, 2025

"When I was very much an up-and-coming disability journalist, Alice was always kind to me, often reposting my calls for sources, which led more people in the disability community to trust me. I was fortunate to be part of a Bitch Media Access series she co-edited in 2021, and when I was ranting about the University of California graduate workers’ union representatives not meeting the needs of disabled workers, she invited me to write a piece for Disability Visibility Project."

I really appreciate Julia Métraux's reflections on Alice Wong's work and legacy. And it's nice to be quoted in them too. Julia goes beyond what's been the more typical, nonspecific tributes too – highlighting some of Alice's less universally popular projects, (but I think quite valuable), like her focus on Palestinian disabled people in Gaza and ongoing advocacy for those of us still at risk from COVID. Most importantly though, I love that Julia mentions Alice's kindness to people. My experience, too, was that while Alice was wonderfully spiky and unyielding on disability issues and against ableist institutions, she was almost always gentle and loving with individuals. That may be the most important and rewarding quality for the rest of us to emulate.

Urgent: We Must Act to Save the Protection and Advocacy Network - with the National Disability Rights Network

Medicaid Saves Lives – Sign the Petition to Protect It! - with The Arc

Request Bipartisan Oversight Hearings for Dismantling of US Dept of Education with the National Down Syndrome Congress

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